Although slide fasteners attached to clothes, bags, etc. are normally equipped in advance with a pull tab for opening and closing a slide fastener, there exists a strong demand among consumers for replacing them with others for various reasons. For example, (1) original pull tabs are too small to be gripped, (2) original pull tabs are out of date or of unsatisfactory designs, or (3) original pull tabs are out of accord with clothes to be worn. On such occasions, it would be convenient if consumers can change the pull tabs in a practical, simplified manner.
Such replaceable pull tabs for slide fasteners have been disclosed, for example, in JP-A-10-137009 (1988), JP-A-2000-225007 and JP-U-3027783.
JP-A-10-137009 discloses a replaceable slide fastener pull tab which consists of an intermediate part, a pull tab and a slide-connector, wherein the intermediate part and the pull tab are connected by inserting the pull tab into an insertion hole provided inside the intermediate part and combined by machine-sewing.
JP-A-2000-225007 describes a replaceable slide fastener pull tab which consists of a slide-connector, intermediate part and a grip, wherein the slide-connector and intermediate part constitute a complex interlock-release mechanical arrangement.
JP-U-3027783 discloses a replaceable pull tab which consists of a slide-connector, intermediate part and a grip, wherein the intermediate part and grip are connected and fixed by machine-sewing, etc.
The replaceable pull tabs for slide fasteners described in JP-A-10-137009 and JP-U-3027783, which are connected by machine-sewing between the intermediate part and the grip, suffer from the disadvantage that replacement at the connecting part is difficult to be achieved. In JP-U-3027783, the connecting mechanism is not clear in the specification but judging from the drawings, the grip appears to be folded into two portions and pressed against a pin of the intermediate part and the folded pull tab pieces are combined by machine-sewing, etc. If so, this technique also has difficulties in achieving replacement at this part. In such prior art disclosures, the intermediate part and grip are designed to be replaced together as an integral unit, but naturally it would be economical if the grip alone can be replaced.
In addition, the replaceable slide fastener pull tab disclosed in JP-A-2000-225007 has a drawback in that the pull tab is composed of a lot of components. In the case of JP-A-10-137009 and JP-U-3027783, the pull tabs contain two or three components and therefore do not present any problem in this respect, but they suffer from the disadvantage that they act rigidly against the slide fastener slide as described hereinafter.